Whispers Across Time
by sarcrow13
Summary: What if Clara wasn't the one to save the Doctor, what if it was a girl named Whisper? Whisper Faith has no idea who this strange man is, who keeps turning up everywhere she goes, but for some reason, she finds herself always meeting him when she's in danger. And, she always risks her life to save his. Will she die again, or will he manage to save her this time? (9,10,11XOC)
1. Chapter 1: The Blue Box

Whispers Across Time

Chapter 1: The Blue Box

As Cline and I were leading the team through the wreckage of one of our old cities, we chanced upon a large blue box; almost immediately upon sight of the said box, my head began to ache, feeling as though it was splitting open. I groaned and clutched at it, dropping to my knees on the ground. Clive immediately stopped the two other men and rushed to my side.

"Are you all right, Whisper?" he asked me frantically, and I forced myself to nod through the pain; it wouldn't do for him to know that I was in excruciating pain and doubted that I would manage to make it through this particular headache.

All of a sudden, a man and two women stepped out from the blue box, despite the fact that it appeared to be rather small, and my headache disappeared; I stood, my gun pointed at the newcomers as we slowly stalked forwards.

"Why would the TARDIS bring us here, then?" the man asked, stroking the box.

"Oh, I love this bit," the black woman said, and I cocked my gun, aiming at the man; he appeared to be the one with all of the knowledge.

"I thought you wanted to go home," the red-haired woman replied, frowning.

"I know, but all the same, it's that feeling you get," the black woman said in reply, and I stepped forward a step or two, the others surrounding me in their usual protective formation.

"Like you swallowed a hamster?" the red-haired woman suggested just as my foot lost traction and skidded across the gravel, producing a loud scraping noise.

The three jumped, swinging their heads upwards to search for the origin of the sound, and Cline rushed forward, just in case these strangers meant harm to us.

"Don't move! Stay where you are! Drop your weapons," he ordered, gesturing for them to drop the weapons I did not see on the ground with his gun, and I giggled softly, earning myself a glare from Cline, as well as the other two, whose names I didn't remember.

The three raised their hands above their heads and I stepped forwards, blowing a strand of my auburn hair out of my eyes.

"We're unarmed. Look, no weapons. Never any weapons. We're safe," the man said, and I examined all three of them thoroughly, using my talent for noticing tiny details to help me.

"Look at their hands. They're clean," one of the soldiers beside me remarked, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Interesting. All right, process them. Him first," I said firmly, pointing to the brown-haired man, who frowned at me as I turned to face Cline.

"Whisper?" he asked, and I turned back to face him.

"Sorry, do I know you?" I asked, frowning at him; he didn't look familiar to me, and my name isn't that common, so how did he know it?

"Oh," the man said, looking disappointed as the two soldiers jogged over and grabbed him. "Never mind."

Cline looked at me curiously, and I shrugged. "No clue who he is," I said just as the man began to shout.

"Oi, oi. What's wrong with clean hands?" he demanded, and I chuckled.

"Nothing; that just means you haven't been processed yet. It's all right, no worries," I explained, taking note of the strange disappointment that lingered in the man's brown eyes.

"What's going on?" the black woman asked, looking at the four of us, and I smirked.

"You're being processed," I replied, my smirk tugging the corner of my lip upwards to reveal my perfectly white teeth. "Didn't you hear me say that?"

The man was led over to the machine and his right arm was thrust inside by the soldiers.

"Leave him alone!" the red-haired woman exclaimed, and my smirk widened.

"Something tells me this isn't about to check my blood pressure," the man remarked, and I chuckled.

"You are correct," I said just as the man cried out in pain as the process began.

"Argh!"

"What are you doing to him?" the red-haired woman asked, clearly concerned about her companion, and I decided right then to take mercy on her.

"Everyone is processed when they first arrive," I explained. "It's just a part of our culture."

"It's taken a tissue sample. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow. And extrapolated it. Some kind of accelerator?" the man mumbled, and I grinned widely.

"Correct," I said, and the machine released the man, "once again."

"Are you all right?" the black woman asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"He'll be fine. Being processed doesn't kill you," I said, scoffing, and Cline nudged my shoulder with his as a way to tell me to be nice.

"What on earth?" the man mused as he looked at the back of his hand, which now held a familiar looking cut; it wasn't shaped like the other cuts, but it was so, so, so familiar. "That's just -"

The glass doors swung open, cutting off the man's musing, and a new girl was revealed. She was rather pretty, with long blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail and blue eyes, and I smiled at her; she was dressed just like I was, and I could just tell that she and I would get along brilliantly.

"Welcome, newbie," I said, offering her a hand to help her down the steps. "Arm yourself."

Cline handed her a gun, and she accepted it gracefully, grinning at me.

"Where did she come from?" the black-woman asked, and I smirked, rolling my eyes.

"From me," the man replied.

"From you? How? Who is she?" the red-haired woman demanded, and I chuckled as the blonde finished checking over her gun, making sure it was ready for use.

"Well, she's, well, she's my daughter," the man stammered, and the girl looked up, grinning at the man.

"Hello, Dad."


	2. Chapter 2: Jenny

**_A/N: To those of you who are worrying about the main character of this story being a Mary-Sue, I am sorry. I did not mean to create a character that would be seen that way. I hope you guys will give Whisper a chance; I would really appreciate it if you read this story all the way through. I've put my heart and soul into this story, so it kind of hurts when you guys accuse me of creating a Mary-Sue character. What do you think makes a Mary-Sue character? Comment and tell me your opinions; I would love to hear from you guys._**

**_NicoleR85: Thank you for commenting. I'm glad you're enjoying my story, though I would love to hear some constructive criticism on how to make this story better. I always love to hear from my fans, so thank you! :)_**

Whispers Across Time

Chapter 2: The Doctor

"You primed to take orders? Ready to fight?" Cline asked the new girl, and she nodded.

"Instant mental download of all strategic and military protocols, sir. Generation five thousand soldier primed and in peak physical health. Oh, I'm ready," she said, grinning at the end of her little speech.

"Good. Now, here's what we're going to do -" I began, only to be cut off by Cline as we all walked over to the barricade.

"Shh, I think they're coming," he whispered, giving me a look.

I mimed zipping my mouth shut and settled for glaring at him instead.

But the three that had come from the blue box continued to talk, and I glared at them instead.

"Did you say daughter?" the red-head asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"Mmm. Technically," the man replied, still staring at the new girl and I - at least, I think that he was staring at us.

"Technically how?" the black woman asked, and Cline began to glare at the three of them, as well.

"Reproduction from a single organism. Means one parent is biological mother and father. You take a sample of diploid cells, split them into haploids, then recombine them in a different arrangement and grow. Very quickly, apparently," the man explained, using his hands to talk.

"Something's coming," the new girl remarked, and I perked up; she was right, they were coming.

We all begin firing as soon as _they_ come into view.

"Get down!" the new girl and I shouted together, looking at each other after finishing, and we both giggled as the newcomers ducked to avoid the barrage of bullets.

"We have to blow the tunnel. Get the detonator," Cline said, and I frowned.

"That means -" I began, only to be cut off by the man speaking.

"I'm not detonating anything."

"You don't have to!" I snapped, glaring at him. "We'll do it, like we always do, and save your sorry asses while we're at it!"

The man gave me a wounded, hurt look before rushing to the side of a wounded soldier. Meanwhile, _they_ grabbed the black woman and dragged her into their ranks. I groaned; hopefully, it wouldn't be me who would have to rescue her from their clutches like always. Maybe this time Cline would actually do his job.

I rushed forwards and kicked one of _them_ in the chest, knocking it flat on its back; then, I roundhouse kicked another that had been sneaking up behind me, all the while exchanging blows with another. The new girl was also in hand-to-hand combat with those monsters, and she kicked one down before racing over to grab the detonator._  
_

"Blow the thing! Blow the thing!" I shrieked, my voice raising above the clamor of the battle, and the new girl nodded, her ponytail bouncing with her head's movement.

"Martha! No. Don't," the man exclaimed, but it was too late; the new girl had hit the button.

A klaxon noise sounded, and I ran forwards, grabbing the man's wrist, along with the wrist of the red-head, and dragged them to safety. I arrived just after the others, and as we kneeled down behind a rock, I panted for breath. Suddenly, the detonator exploded, bringing down the roof of the tunnel, and we all raced for safety once more.

* * *

"You've sealed off the tunnel. Why did you do that?" the man demanded, rounding on the new girl, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, glaring at this strange man who arrived in the blue box that looked too small for three people to fit inside.

"They were trying to kill us!" the blonde girl I had my arm around retorted, sounding insulted by the man's anger at her.

"But they've got my friend," the man said, and I rolled my eyes.

"Collateral damage. Don't worry about it; she's long gone. I bet you the Hath have already killed her," I told him, releasing the new girl and walking over to Cline.

"At least you've still got her. He lost both his men. I'd say you came out ahead," I heard the new girl exclaim, gesturing to the simmering red-head before nodding at Cline, who was mourning the loss of our soldiers in the fight.

"Her name's Martha. And she's not collateral damage, not for anyone. Have you got that, GI Jane?" the man asked threateningly, getting up in the new girl's face.

I raced over, separating the two who looked as though they wanted to kill each other. "Enough!" I exclaimed, looking at both of them. "We've lost good men today, so stop it! We don't need any more casualties!"

The man looked torn as he shrugged my hand away from his chest, which cut off the flow of electricity between the two of us, and he stalked away. "I'm going to find her," he grumbled, and I rolled my eyes, grabbing his wrist and halting him in his tracks.

"You're going nowhere. You don't make sense, you two. No guns, no marks, no fight in you. I'm taking you to General Cobb. Now, move," Cline ordered, gesturing for the two strangers to move, and I dragged the man along, ignoring the tingling that raced up and down my arm.

* * *

"I'm Donna. What's your name?" The red-haired woman was talking to the new girl as I walked up with Cline, trying to comfort him, the man walking behind us all and shooting glances over his shoulder the way we had come.

"Don't know. It's not been assigned," the new girl said, shrugging.

"Well, if you don't know that, what do you know?" Donna asked, and I smiled, walking back to join them.

"We all know how to fight," I replied, linking arms with the new girl, who had become my best friend over the walk we had been on for a while.

"Nothing else?" Donna said, frowning.

"The machine must embed military history and tactics, but no name. She's a generated anomaly," the man explained, and I frowned at him.

"We're not generated anomalies!" I exclaimed, and the man shook his head.

"I didn't say you were; I said she was."

"Generated anomaly. Generated. Well, what about that? Jenny," Donna was saying, tasting the words in her mouth as she went.

"Jenny. Yeah, I like that. Jenny," the new girl mused, smiling brightly at the three of us.

"What do you think, _Dad_?" Donna asked, grinning mischievously at the man.

"Good as anything, I suppose," he said, shrugging nonchalantly, and I had to resist the urge to hit him, though it seemed that it would be right to hit him; I didn't know why at the time, but I do now.

"Not what you'd call a natural parent, are you?" Donna asked, rolling her eyes at him.

"They stole a tissue sample at gunpoint and processed it. It's not what I call natural parenting!" the man retorted, and I glared at him.

"Gunpoint!?" I exclaimed angrily. "Excuse me!?"

Jenny, for that was what her name was after that moment, stroked my arm in an effort to calm me down, and I took a deep breath, calming my beating heart and jangling nerves.

"Rubbish," Donna was saying. "My friend Nerys fathered twins with a turkey baster. Don't bother her."

I smiled at the red-haired woman who seemed to be quite cheeky, offering her my arm, which she took with a grateful smile.

"You can't extrapolate a relationship from a biological accident," the man shot back, and I had to take a few more deep breaths to calm myself; I had mothered my children from the machine, so why was this man having such a difficult time doing the same thing?

"Er, Child Support Agency can," Donna replied, smirking at me.

"Look, just because I share certain physiological traits with simian primates doesn't make me a monkey's uncle, does it?" the man reasoned, and I glared at him as Jenny began to stroke my arm soothingly again.

"I'm not a monkey. Or a child," she retorted, and I chuckled.

"No, you aren't," I said to her just as we walked into camp.


	3. Chapter 3: The Doctor

**_NicoleR85: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying my story! :)_**

* * *

Whispers Across Time

Chapter 3: The Doctor

"So, where are we? What planet's this?" the man asked, looking around the chamber the camp was in.

"Messaline. Well, what's left of it," Cline replied.

"Don't be so downcast, Cline!" I exclaimed, glaring at him. "Sure, we've hit a rough patch, but we can get through it; we have before."

"You're awfully cheerful," the man remarked, and I chuckled.

"I'm not cheerful, just optimistic," I said.

"You always are," the man muttered, and I cocked an eyebrow as I looked at him.

"Whatever," I mumbled under my breath, walking ahead.

"Six six three seventy five deceased. Generation six six seven one, extinct. Generation six six seven two, forty six deceased. Generation six six eight zero, fourteen deceased. Generation six -" Tannoy was saying over the intercom.

"But . . . this is a theater," Donna said, and I shrugged at her, walking backwards.

"Maybe they're doing Miss Saigon," the man suggested, and the corner of my lip twitched upwards.

I just shrugged again.

"It's like a town or a city, underground. But why?" Donna asked, and I was about to answer her when General Cobb walked up.

I snapped into salute.

"General Cobb, I presume," the man said.

"At ease, soldier," General Cobb told me before turning back to the man as I moved into parade rest. "Found in the western tunnels, I'm told, with no marks. There was an outbreak of pacifism in the eastern zone three generations back, before we lost contact. Is that where you came from?"

"Eastern zone, that's us, yeah. Yeah. I'm the Doctor, this is Donna," the man said, introducing himself and his companion.

"And I'm Jenny," Jenny said.

"Don't think you can infect us with your peacemaking. We're committed to the fight, to the very end," General Cobb said, not unkindly.

"Well, that's all right," the Doctor said nonchalantly. "I can't stay, anyway; I've got to go and find my friend."

"That's not possible. All movement is regulated. We're at war," General Cobb said, and I peeked up to see the Doctor staring at me, his eyes dark with some indescribable emotion.

"Yes, I noticed. With the Hath. But tell me, because we got a bit out of circulation, eastern zone and all that. So who exactly are the Hath?" the Doctor asked, looking as though he was asking me, but General Cobb answered.

* * *

"Back at the dawn of this planet, these ancient halls were carved from the earth. Our ancestors dreamt of a new beginning, a colony where human and Hath would work and live together," General Cobb said as we walked the halls.

"So what happened?" the Doctor asked.

"Broken promises," I was quick to whisper, still holding my head down as to not disrespect my commanding officer.

"The dream died. Broken, along with Hath promises. They wanted it all for themselves. But those early pioneers, they fought back. They used the machines to produce soldiers instead of colonists, and began this battle for survival," General Cobb answered as if I had not even spoken.

"There's nothing but earth outside, why's that? Why build everything underground?" Donna asked, and I shrugged loosely.

"The surface is too dangerous," Cline said.

"Well, then why build windows in the first place? And what does this mean?" she asked, pointing at the plaque with the numbers '601707' engraved upon its surface.

"The rites and symbols of our ancestors. The meanings? Lost in time," General Cobb said.

"How long's this war gone on for?" the Doctor asked, _clearly_ directing his question at me.

"Longer than anyone can remember," General Cobb said rudely, recapturing the Doctor's attentions for himself. "Countless generations marked only by the dead."

"What, fighting all this time?" Donna asked, surprised.

"Because we must. Every child of the machine is born with this knowledge. It's our inheritance. It's all we know. How to fight, and how to die," Jenny said, protecting all that she knew.

We were studying the map of the area all together, the Doctor seeming to the the most involved in the studying.

"Does this show the entire city, including the Hath zones?" he asked me.

"Yes," I said hesitantly. "Why?"

"Well, it'll help us find Martha," the Doctor said, a cheeky grin on his face.

"We've more important things to do," Cline snapped, being an ass. "The progenation machines are powered down for the night shift, but soon as they're active, we could breed a whole platoon from you two."

My lip twitched upwards in an imitation of a snarl, but I said nothing.

"I'm not having sons and daughters by some great big flipping machine," Donna snapped before she realized Jenny and I were still standing there. "Sorry, no offence, but you're not. Well, I mean, you're not real."

I rolled my eyes.

"You're no better than him," Jenny said, as annoyed as I was.

"I have a body," I said.

"I have a mind," she said.

"I have independent thought," I said.

"How am I - er, how are we not real?" Jenny asked.

"What makes you better than me and her?" I asked, and the Doctor sent me a hesitant smile, only for me to turn and ignore him.

"Well said, soldiers," General Cobb said, and Jenny and I beamed at the praise. "We need more like you two, if ever we're to find the Source."

"Ooh, the Source. What's that, then? What's a Source? I like a Source. What is it?" the Doctor said, rambling.

"The Breath of Life," General Cobb said.

"And that would be?" the Doctor asked.

"In the beginning, the Great One breathed life into the universe. And then She looked at what She'd done, and She sighed," Cline explained.

"She. I like that," Jenny said, and I nodded in agreement.

"Right. So it's a creation myth," the Doctor remarked, and General Cobb shook his head.

"It's not myth. It's real. That sigh. From the beginning of time it was caught and kept as the Source. It was lost when the war started. But it's here, somewhere. Whoever holds the Source controls the destiny of the planet," he said.

"Ah!" the Doctor exclaimed, swiping his hand through the map. "I thought so. There's a suppressed layer of information in this map. If I can just -" he rambled as he pulled a tube with a blue light at the end from his trench coat. He pointed it at the map and a whole section added itself on to the map.

"What's that, then?" I asked dryly, pointing at the tube.

"My sonic screwdriver," the Doctor said proudly.

"Boys and their toys," I muttered, and he chuckled, throwing an arm over my shoulder.

"That's what you always say," he said, and Donna cleared her throat.

"Hate to interrupt you two lovebirds, but what is it? What's it mean?" she said.

"See? A whole complex of tunnels hidden from sight," the Doctor said, and General Cobb began to move.

"That must be the lost temple. The Source will be inside. You've shown us the way. And look, we're closer than the Hath. It's ours," he said.

* * *

"Tell them to prepare to move out. We'll progenate new soldiers on the morning shift, then we march. Once we reach the Temple, peace will be restored at long last," General Cobb said, preparing the soldiers.

"Er, call me old-fashioned, but if you really wanted peace, couldn't you just stop fighting?" the Doctor asked.

"Only when we have the Source. It'll give us the power to erase every stinking Hath from the face of this planet," General Cobb exclaimed.

"Hang on, hang on. A second ago it was peace in our time. Now you're talking about genocide," the Doctor said, and my heart began to race; he was becoming aggressive, and I somehow knew an aggressive Doctor was not one you wanted to deal with.

"For us, that means the same thing," General Cobb said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Then you need to get yourself a better dictionary. When you do, look up genocide. You'll see a little picture of me there, and the caption will read, over my dead body," the Doctor said angrily, his arm over my shoulder tightening protectively.

"And you're the one who showed us the path to victory. But you can consider the irony from your prison cell. Cline, at arms," General Cobb said, and I leapt in front of the Doctor, holding my arms out like a starfish - how I knew that, I didn't know, but I did know that I had to protect this man; he was something special to me in the future.

"Oi, oi, oi. All right. Cool the beans, Rambo," Donna said as the Doctor locked his arms around my waist upon Cline pointing his gun at us.

"Take them. I won't have them spreading treason. And if you try anything, Doctor, I'll see that your woman dies first," General Cobb threatened, gesturing at me with his gun.

"Try and you'll regret it," the Doctor growled, his arms around my waist tightening as he drew me back into his chest; somehow, I knew I was safe, despite the threats upon my safety.

"We'll see," General Cobb said, sneering at us. "Take them away."

"Come on. This way," Cline said, gesturing with his gun.

"I'm going to stop you, Cobb. You need to know that," the Doctor said, pulling me behind him.

"I have an army and the Breath of God on my side, Doctor. What'll you have?" General Cobb asked, sneering.

"This and her," the Doctor said, pointing to his brain before to me.

"Lock them up and guard them," General Cobb ordered, and I growled at him.

"You're going to regret betraying me, Cobb," I snarled.

"I'm not doing the betraying," he told me, sneering.

"What about the new soldier?" Cline asked.

"Can't trust her. She's from pacifist stock. Take them all," Cobb replied.

"Even Whisper?" Cline asked, gritting his teeth.

"Especially Whisper," Cobb said. "She's with the Doctor; she cannot be trusted, ever."

"You'll regret this, Cobb; I'm going to get you," I growled. "I never forget anyone who ever betrays me. You _will_ regret this."

"No, you will," Cobb said, and we were led away.


	4. Chapter 4: Death (part 1)

**_NicoleR85: Thank you! I'm so glad that you're enjoying it! :)  
grapejuice101: Why, thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much!  
beulah2013: Whisper is dangerous; her secret has yet to be revealed (it will be in this chapter, if you're paying attention), but where Whisper was raised, she was trained to be a warrior, someone to fight in their wars. She killed those that betrayed her in this particular life (they were a Child of the Machine, and they stole from her when they promised to be loyal to her forever). They will remain unnamed, because it'd just piss Whisper off again if I mentioned them. ;)  
The Dreamer: Quite possibly. ;)  
_**

Whispers Across Time

Chapter 4: Death (part 1)

"More numbers," Donna said, peering at the wall. "They've got to mean something."

"Makes as much sense as the Breath of Life story," the Doctor said.

"You mean that's not true?" Jenny asked, and I kicked the bars in agreement, turning back to my companions.

"No, it's a myth. Isn't it, Doctor?" Donna asked, turning to the Doctor.

"Yes, but there could still be something real in that temple," he said, staring at me, and I felt blood rush to my cheeks and heating them up as I quickly turned back around. "Something that's become a myth. A piece of technology, a weapon."

"So the Source could be a weapon and we've just given directions to Captain Nutjob?" Donna asked, and I chuckled, turning back to smile at Donna.

"Oh, yes," the Doctor said, and I giggled, kicking the bars with my heel.

"Not good, is it?" Donna asked, and I shook my head.

"That's why we need to get out of here, find Martha and stop Cobb from slaughtering the Hath," the Doctor said before he noticed Jenny and I were staring at him, amused expressions on our face. "What - what are you - what are you - what are you two staring at?"

"You keep insisting you're not a soldier, but look at you, drawing up strategies like a proper general," Jenny said, and I nodded, chuckling at his expression.

"No, no. I'm trying to stop the fighting," Doctor said, and I turned back to the bars.

"Isn't every soldier?" I asked rhetorically, the corner of my lips twitching upwards.

"Well, I suppose, but that's - that's. Technically - . I haven't got time for this," the Doctor said. "Donna, give me your phone; time for an upgrade."

"And now you've got a weapon," Jenny exclaimed, and I whirled around to find the Doctor holding his sonic screwdriver.

"It's not a weapon," the Doctor said.

"But you're using it to fight back. I'm going to learn so much from you. You are such a soldier," Jenny said, and I chuckled.

"Donna, will you tell her?" the Doctor asked after a moment of flapping his lips speechlessly like a fish.

"Oh, you are speechless. I'm loving this. You keep on, Jenny," Donna said, and I laughed loudly.

The Doctor soniced Donna's phone and dialed a number.

"Martha, you're alive!" he exclaimed after a moment.

"I'm with Donna. We're fine. What about you?" he said.

"And - and Whisper and Jenny. They're fine, too," Donna said, and I crossed my arms over my chest, giving the Doctor a look to which he replied with a guilty look and a mouthed apology.

"Yes, all right. Whisper and - and Jenny. That's the woman from the machine. The soldier. My daughter, except she isn't - she's - she's. Anyway. where are you?" the Doctor stammered, and I chuckled.

"Silly Doctor," I murmured, turning back to the bars of our cell and kicking them again.

"Oh, that was me. If both armies are heading that way, there's going to be a bloodbath," the Doctor said, and I kicked the bars. Hard.

"Just stay where you are," the Doctor ordered. "If you're safe there, don't move, do you hear?"

Then he appeared to hang up.

"The doors that have been closed will be open to us now. The door to the Temple, to the Source, and to victory," General Cobb was saying, and I snarled at the sound of his voice.

"Why did you react so harshly to General Cobb's betrayal?" Donna asked me, and I grimaced.

"It's a long story, and I'm not sure we have time to hear it," I said, dismissing the idea of telling the story; it wasn't something I liked to recall.

Donna pouted, but I ignored it; I wasn't going to ever tell that story.

"They're getting ready to move out. We have to get past that guard," the Doctor said, diverting Donna's attention, and I smiled thankfully at him.

"Thanks," I murmured, looking out the bars and leaning on them.

"I can deal with him," Jenny said.

"No, no, no, no. You're not going anywhere," the Doctor said, a disapproving tone in his voice.

"What?" Jenny replied, sounding a bit hurt.

"You belong here, with them," the Doctor said, not unkindly.

"She belongs with us. With you. She's your daughter," Donna protested, and I chuckled; we're biological accidents.

"She's a soldier. She came out of that machine," the Doctor shot back.

"Oh yes, I know that bit," Donna replied saucily, and I turned. "Listen, have you got that stethoscope? Give it to me. Come on."

"What are you doing?" Jenny asked as Donna leaned forward to listen to Jenny's chest.

"It's all right. Just hold still," Donna replied.

And so Donna listened to Jenny's chest. Then she held the stethoscope out to the Doctor.

"Come here. Listen, and then tell me where she belongs," she ordered.

The Doctor listened to Jenny's chest, as well, before pulling away and staring at Donna. "Two hearts," he murmured, and I looked down at my own chest.

"Exactly," Donna said triumphantly.

"What's going on?" Jenny asked, turning from the Doctor to Donna to me, and I shrugged.

"Does that mean she's a - what do you call a female Time Lord?" Donna said.

"A Time Lady," I said suddenly, the words spilling out of my mouth uncontrollably, and everyone turned to look at me strangely. I shrugged. "I do not know how I know that," I said in my defense.

"What's a Time Lord - or Time Lady?" Jenny asked, and I shrugged.

"No clue," I replied.

"It's who I am. It's where I'm from," the Doctor said, giving me a sad expression.

"And I'm from you," Jenny said.

"You're an echo, that's all. A Time Lord is so much more. A sum of knowledge, a code, a shared history, a shared suffering. Only it's gone now, all of it. Gone forever," the Doctor said, rather rudely.

"What happened?" Jenny asked.

"There was a war," the Doctor said.

"Like this one?" Jenny asked curiously.

"Bigger. Much bigger," the Doctor said, shaking his head.

"And you fought . . . and killed?" Jenny said, unsure.

"Yes." The Doctor refused to meet my gaze, almost as if he were ashamed.

"Then how are we different?" Jenny asked, and the Doctor looked down.

* * *

"Hey," I said, Jenny at my side.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you. I'm on duty," Cline said, smiling at me.

"You're awful warm for not being supposed to talk to us," I said, smirking at him.

"I know. Guarding me. So, does that mean I'm dangerous, or that I need protecting?" Jenny asked, also smirking.

"Protecting from what?" Cline asked, amused.

"Oh, I don't know. Men like you?" I suggested, pulling Cline in by his collar, and I kissed him, long and hard. I freed his gun from his belt and pressed it against his stomach.

"Keep quiet and open the door," I ordered, smirking. "Can't believe you fell for that, dear; I thought you were smarter."

"I'd like to see you try that," Donna said, smirking at the Doctor.

"So would I," I said, smirking at the Doctor also.

* * *

"That's the way out," the Doctor said, pointing at a lower staircase that was currently occupied by a guard.

Jenny raised the pistol that I had given her earlier, and the Doctor scowled at her.

"Don't you dare!" the Doctor exclaimed, and Jenny pouted at the sharpness in his voice.

"Let me distract this one," Donna suggested. "I've picked up a few womanly wiles over the years."

"Let's save your wiles for later. In case of emergency," the Doctor said, wincing a little bit at the suggestion.

He began to rummage through his coat pockets and pulled out a toy mouse. I smirked at him, and I quickly grabbed the clockwork mouse from his hand, setting it down on the ground after winding it up. The mouse squeaked to a halt in front of the guard, and he picked it up, only to have Jenny karate chop him from behind.

"I was going to distract him, not clobber him," the Doctor said.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Jenny asked as the Doctor searched the guard's pockets, withdrawing with a map.

"They must all have a copy of that new map," he said before turning to Jenny. "Just stay there. Don't hurt anyone."

* * *

The Doctor checked the map he took from the guard, smirking at me. "Wait. This is it. The hidden tunnel. There must be a control panel," he said.

"It's another one of those numbers. They're everywhere," Donna said, looking at the newest engraving she had discovered.

"The original builders must have left them, some old cataloging system," the Doctor said, shrugging.

"You got a pen? Bit of paper?" Donna asked, and the Doctor handed her a pen and a pad of paper. "Because, do you see, the numbers are counting down. This one ends in one four. The prison cell said one six."

"Always thinking, both of you," Jenny said. "Who are you people?"

"I told you; I'm the Doctor," the Doctor replied.

"'The Doctor'. That's it?" Jenny asked, blinking.

"That's all he ever says," Donna said, smirking.

"So, you don't have a name either? Are you an anomaly, too?" Jenny asked.

"No," the Doctor said quickly, and I turned my head to the side.

"Oh, come off it. You're the most anomalous bloke I've ever met," Donna said just as the Doctor got into the control panel.

"Here it is," he said.

"And Time Lords. What are they for, exactly?" Jenny asked as the Doctor fiddled with the controls in the panel.

"For? They're not, they're not for anything," the Doctor answered, looking up at her before turning back to his work.

"So what do you do?" Jenny asked.

"I travel through time and space," the Doctor replied.

"He saves planets, rescues civilizations, defeats terrible creatures. And runs a lot. Seriously, there's an outrageous amount of running involved," Donna said just as the Doctor got the door open.

"Got it!" he exclaimed triumphantly.

"Squad five, with me," Cobb said off in the distance, and I lifted my lips in a snarl in the direction of his voice.

"I should hunt him down and -" I was cut off by the Doctor covering my mouth and pulling me back into his chest.

"Now, what were you saying about running?" he asked Jenny and Donna, smirking.

* * *

Suddenly, we stopped in front of a passageway covered by criss-crossing lasers.

"That's not mood lighting, is it?" Donna asked, and I shook my head.

The Doctor tossed the mouse into the path of one of the lasers, and it exploded.

"No, I didn't think so," Donna said.

"Arming device," the Doctor said, whirling around and fiddling with a control panel.

"There's more of these. Always eight numbers, counting down the closer we get," Donna said, scribbling the numbers down.

"Right, here we go," the Doctor said.

"You'd better be quick," Donna said, grabbing my hand.

"Corridor," Cobb said off in the distance.

"The General," Jenny said, grabbing a gun and turning as if she was going to go.

I ripped myself free from Donna's grasp and raced into the corridor, grabbing a gun as I went. I aimed and began to shoot.

After a few moments, Jenny joined me, also shooting.

"There she is. At arms. Fire!" a soldier shouted, and Jenny and I ducked out of the way of the fire.

"Whisper, Jenny, come on!" the Doctor called.

"We're coming," Jenny shouted back, still shooting.

"Cease fire. Cease fire," Cobb said, and their firing halted.

After a few moments, the Doctor called again. "Whisper, Jenny, leave it! Let's go."

I looked sideways at Jenny, but she didn't meet my eyes.

"You're both children of the machine. You're on my side. Join us. Join us in the war against the Hath. It's in your blood, girls. Don't deny it," Cobb said, and I stood, taking aim directly at his chest.

My finger twitched on the trigger, but Jenny knocked the gun upwards. It shot a hole in a steam pipe above Cobb before Jenny tugged me along, wrenching the gun from my hands. We ran into the corridor, now empty of lasers, Doctor and Donna on the other side, waving to us.

"Whisper, Jenny, come on. That's it," the Doctor said.

"Hurry up," Donna exclaimed, but at that moment, the lasers reappeared.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. The circuit's looped back," the Doctor said, looking up at the ceiling.

"Zap it back again," Donna said, glaring at the Doctor before looking at me desperately.

"The controls are back there," the Doctor said.

"They're coming," Jenny said, the gunshots echoing in the corridor.

"Wait. Just - There isn't - Whisper, Jenny, I can't -" the Doctor stammered.

"We'll have to manage on our own, then," I said, smirking at him.

"Watch and learn, Father," Jenny said, also smirking at him as she threw her weapon away.

With that, we both began to flip over the lasers. We landed neatly on the other end, and I smirked up at the Doctor.

"Hello, dear," I said.

"No way. But that was impossible," Donna said, gaping at us.

"Not impossible. Just a bit unlikely. Brilliant! You were brilliant. Brilliant," the Doctor exclaimed, hugging and kissing the tops of our heads, Jenny's and I.

"That's me, the Impossible Girl," I said, grinning proudly, and the Doctor stopped for a second.

"Wh-what did you say?" he asked.

"I'm the Impossible Girl," I repeated, staring at him. "What? Cline's called me that since we met."

At that moment, Cobb and his soldiers appeared on the other side of the corridor. "At arms," he said as Jenny and Donna dragged me off.

"I warned you, Cobb. If the Source is a weapon, I'm going to make sure you never use it," I heard the Doctor say.


	5. Chapter 5: Death (part 2)

**_grapejuice101: Thank you! I'm glad that you're enjoying my story! :D  
NicoleR85: Thank you! I hope you enjoy this particular chapter. It's the first of many involving deaths.  
_**

Whispers Across Time

Chapter 5: Death (part 2)

"So, you travel together, but you're not together?" Jenny asked Donna.

"What? No. No. No way. No, no, we're friends, that's all. I mean, we're not even the same species. There's probably laws against it," Donna replied, and I chuckled.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked, looking down at me as we walked.

"Nothing," I said, grinning with amusement.

"You will. Won't she, Doctor?" Donna called up to us.

"Hmm?" the Doctor replied, turning.

"Do you think Jenny will see any new worlds?" Donna asked, grinning at us.

"I suppose so," the Doctor said, smiling warmly at both Jenny and I.

"You mean - you mean you'll take me with you?" Jenny asked excitedly.

"Well, we can't leave you here, can we?" the Doctor asked, chuckling.

"What about me?" I asked as Jenny flung herself into his open arms.

"You're coming, too, of course - well, that is, if you want to," the Doctor replied, hugging Jenny back.

I grinned at him. "Thank you so much! Now, come on, let's get a move on," I said, turning and racing off with Jenny.

"Careful, there might be traps," the Doctor called after us.

Gunfire began on the other side of the tunnel, and Jenny and I turned and ran back to the Doctor and Donna.

"They've blasted through the beams. Time to run again. Love the running. Yeah?" Jenny said, grinning.

"Love the running," the Doctor replied, also grinning, and we all ran off, right into a dead end.

"We're trapped," Donna said, looking at the wall.

"Can't be. This must be the Temple. This is a door," the Doctor said, and he rushed forwards to begin to work.

"And again. We're down to one two now," Donna said, looking up at the engraving.

"I've got it!" the Doctor exclaimed as the panel of the control panel opened.

"I can hear them," Jenny said, both of us listening to the sounds of gunfire in the distance but approaching rapidly.

"Nearly done," the Doctor replied.

"These can't be a cataloging system," Donna said, still on about the numbers.

"They're getting closer," Jenny called as I skipped over to the Doctor.

"Then get back here, like Whisper," the Doctor called back.

"They're too similar. Too familiar," Donna mumbled.

"Not yet," Jenny said.

"Now! Got it," the Doctor shouted as the door slid open, and we all sprinted through.

"They're coming. Close the door," Jenny said.

The Doctor locked the door, and I turned to examine what appeared to be . . . the inside of a spaceship.

"Oh, that was close," Jenny said.

"No fun otherwise," the Doctor said, grinning.

"It's not what I'd call a temple," Donna said, looking around the so-called "temple".

"It looks more like -" Jenny was cut off by the Doctor.

"Fusion drive transport. It's a spaceship," he said, looking around.

"What, the original one? The one the first colonists arrived in?" Donna asked curiously.

"Well, it could be, but the power cells would have run down after all that time," the Doctor pointed out dryly. "This one's still powered-up and functioning. Come on."

We all headed up the stairs and found ourselves face-to-face - well, faces - with a door, one that someone - or something - was cutting through.

"It's the Hath," Jenny said, and I grimaced. "That door's not going to last much longer. And if General Cobb gets through down there, war's going to break out."

"Not good," I muttered.

"Look, look, look, look, look. Ship's log," the Doctor said, pointing at a computer, and we all raced over.

"'First wave of Human/Hath co-colonization of planet Messaline,'" the Doctor read, and I blinked.

"So it is the original ship," Jenny said, looking at me, and I shrugged.

"I wouldn't know; I was born afterwards," I said, and everyone stared at me. "What? I'm a Child of the Machine, too, you know!"

They all shrugged and went back to what they were doing.

"What happened?" Donna asked.

"Phase one, construction. They used robot drones to build the city," the Doctor said.

"But does it mention the war?" Donna asked, frowning.

"Final entry," the Doctor replied. "'Mission commander dead. Still no agreement on who should assume leadership. Hath and humans have divided into factions.' That must be it. A power vacuum. The crew divided into two factions and turned on each other. Start using the progenation machines, suddenly you've got two armies fighting a never-ending war."

"Two armies who are now both outside," Jenny pointed out, looking about as the sounds of the armies on the other sides of the doors echoed through the room.

"Look at that," Donna said, pointing at numbers above a screen showing the entire planet.

"It's like the numbers in the tunnels," the Doctor said.

"No, no, no, no. But listen, I spent six months working as a temp in Hounslow Library, and I mastered the Dewey Decimal System in two days flat. I'm good with numbers. It's staring us in the face," Donna said, shaking her head.

"What is?" Jenny asked.

"It's the date. Assuming the first two numbers are some big old space date, then you've got year, month, day. It's the other way round, like it is in America," Donna explained, and I grinned at her.

"Good work!" I exclaimed.

"Oh! It's the New Byzantine Calendar," the Doctor shouted triumphantly, grinning at all of us.

"The codes are completion dates for each section. They finish it, they stamp the date on. So the numbers aren't counting down, they're going out from here, day by day, as the city got built," Donna said.

"Yes. Oh, good work, Donna," the Doctor said, smiling so widely I almost feared that his face would break into two pieces.

"Yeah. But you're still not getting it. The first number I saw back there, was sixty twelve o seven seventeen. Well, look at the date today," Donna said, mischievously.

"O seven twenty four," the Doctor said, his eyes widening when he realized it. "No."

"What does it mean?" Jenny asked, and I grinned, almost laughing I was so giddy.

"Seven days," I said, laughing quietly.

"That's it. Seven days," Donna said, grinning widely.

"Just seven days," the Doctor said, laughing giddily with me.

"What do you mean, seven days?" Jenny asked, confused.

"Seven days since war broke out," the Doctor said, and I laughed loudly.

"This war started seven days ago. Just a week. A week!" Donna exclaimed, excited.

"They said years," Jenny protested.

"No, they said generations. And if they're all like you, and they're products of those machines," Donna said, grinning.

"They could have twenty generations in a day. Each generation gets killed in the war, passes on the legend. Oh, Donna, you're a genius," the Doctor shouted, smiling.

"But all the buildings, the encampments. They're in ruins," Jenny pointed out, and I shook my head.

"No, they're not ruined. They're just empty. Waiting to be populated. Oh, they've mythologized their entire history. The Source must be part of that too. Come on," the Doctor said.

* * *

"Doctor!" the black woman exclaimed, all covered in mud.

"Martha! Oh, I should have known you wouldn't stay away from the excitement," the Doctor said, excited to see his companion again.

"Donna," Martha said, turning to the red-haired woman who had become my friend.

"Oh, you're filthy. What happened?" Donna asked, hugging the black woman.

"I, er, took the surface route," Martha explained, sheepish.

"Positions," Cobb said in the distance, and I growled lowly.

"That's the General. We haven't got much time," the Doctor said, and I gritted my teeth.

"We don't even know what we're looking for," Donna pointed out, and I blinked.

"Or do we?" I asked rhetorically, but everyone ignored me with the arrival of Martha.

"Is it me, or can you smell flowers?" Martha asked.

"Maintain defensive positions," Cobb said, off in the distance, and I frowned.

"Yes. Bougainvillea. I say we follow our nose," the Doctor said, and we all raced off.

* * *

We arrived in a room full of plants and flowers, full of warm scents, sweet and aromatic.

"Oh, yes. Yes. Isn't this brilliant?" the Doctor asked, grinning as we walked through the rows of plants and into the center of the room, where a glowing globe sat upon a pedestal.

"Is that the Source?" Donna asked.

"It's beautiful," Jenny said, and I nodded in agreement.

"Simply gorgeous," I replied.

"What is it?" Martha asked.

"A terraforming device, isn't it?" I asked, turning to the Doctor.

"Yes, how did you know that?" The Doctor's eyes were wide as he turned to me. "It's a third generation terraforming device."

I shrugged.

"Who the hell are you?" Martha demanded of me, and I giggled.

"I'm Whisper, Whisper Faith," I replied, "and I'm going to travel with the Doctor."

Martha's eyes widened and she whirled around to face the Doctor, only to have him put a finger on her lips.

"Shh."

"So why are we suddenly in Kew Gardens?" Donna asked, looking around.

"Because that's what it does. All this, only bigger. Much bigger. It's in a transit state. Producing all this must help keep it stable before they finally -" The Doctor was cut off by the Hath and Cobb running into the room from opposite sides, guns up and ready to fire.

"Stop! Hold your fire!" he exclaimed, holding his hands to the side to represent 'stop.'

"What is this, some kind of trap?" Cobb asked, his tone low and growling.

"You said you wanted this war over," the Doctor said.

"I want this war won," Cobb said.

"You can't win. No one can. You don't even know why you're here. Your whole history, it's just Chinese whispers, getting more distorted the more it's passed on. This is the Source. This is what you're fighting over. A device to rejuvenate a planet's ecosystem. It's nothing mystical. It's from a laboratory, not some creator. It's a bubble of gases. A cocktail of stuff for accelerated evolution. Methane, hydrogen, ammonia, amino acids, proteins, nucleic acids. It's used to make barren planets habitable. Look around you. It's not for killing, it's bringing life. If you allow it, it can lift you out of these dark tunnels and into the bright, bright sunlight. No more fighting, no more killing," the Doctor said, picking the globe of gases up. "I'm the Doctor, and I declare this war is over."

With that, he threw the globe on the floor, and the gases all escaped, raising up to the ceiling in a cloud of beautiful, swirling gases. Everyone put their weapons down, or so I thought; Cobb hadn't.

"What's happening?" Jenny asked.

"The gases will escape and trigger the terraforming process," the Doctor explained, grinning up at the cloud of gases.

"What does that mean?" Jenny asked.

"A new beginning, a new world," I said, grinning.

Cobb raised his gun and aimed it at the Doctor.

"NO!" I screamed, leaping in the way.

Pain erupted in my chest, like a fire had started to lick at my chest, and the Doctor caught me, laying me on the ground.

"Whisper? Whisper. Talk to me, Whisper," he said, and I looked up at him, sleepily, as Martha began to check my injury.

"Is she going to be all right?" Donna asked, concerned for me.

Martha shook her head, and a tear slipped down my cheek; I was going to die.

"A new world. It's beautiful," I murmured, looking up at the gases swirling about.

"Whisper, be strong now. You need to hold on, do you hear me? We've got things to do, you and me, hey? Hey? We can go anywhere. Everywhere. You choose," the Doctor told me, stroking my cheek.

"That sounds good," I said, and the Doctor nodded.

"We've only just got started. You're going to be great. You're going to be more than great. You're going to be amazing. You hear me?" the Doctor asked, and I nodded slowly.

"Run, you clever boy," I said, cupping the Doctor's cheek. "And remember."

Then, it all went dark.


	6. Chapter 6: Soufflé Girl

**_NicoleR85: Happy New Years to you as well! I'm sorry this update is late. I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
Guest: Here's the update. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you've loved the others. ;)  
_**

Whispers Across Time

Chapter 6: Soufflé Girl

"Day 363, the terror continues."

I nailed the boards to the round door, wiping my hand across my forehead.

"Also, made another soufflé . . . very nearly."

I pulled the burnt soufflé out of the oven and pouted; it was ruined. I tossed it in the trash.

"Checked defenses. They came again last night. Still always at night. Maybe they're vampires. Oh, and it's my mum's birthday. Happy birthday, mum."

I was swinging in my hammock, holding my recorder. "I did make you a soufflé, but it was too beautiful to live," I said, grinning mischievously.

"You will let us enter! We will enter! We will enter!" the Daleks screamed, and I frowned, reaching for the remote and turning up the volume on Carmen.

The sounds of the music drowned the screaming and shouting of the Daleks out, and I sighed contently, allowing myself to swing back and forth on the hammock.

* * *

"Hello? Hello? Carmen?" a voice came through the speakers, and I flung myself out of the hammock, rushing to the controls of my ship. "Hello?"

"Hello?" I asked, grinning slightly at the thought that perhaps someone had come.

"Come in, come in," the voice repeated. "Come in, Carmen."

"Hello! Yes, yes, sorry. Do you read me?" I asked, smiling widely.

"Yes, reading you loud and clear. Identify yourself and report your status," the man said, and I tilted my head to the side.

"Hello. Are you real? Are you actually, properly, real?" I asked, grinning.

"Yes, confirmed. Actually, properly, real," the man replied.

"Fariah Faith, junior entertainment officer, starship Alaska," I said, still smiling; I couldn't stop. "Current status, crashed and shipwrecked somewhere . . . not nice. Been here a year, rest of the crew missing. Provisions good but keen to move on."

"A year?" the man repeated, sounding surprised. "Are you okay? Are you under attack?"

"Some local lifeforms," I replied, shrugging. "Been keeping them out."

"Do you know what those lifeforms are?" the man asked.

"I know a Dalek when I hear one, yeah," I said, bemused.

"What have you been doing on your own against the Daleks for a year?" the man asked, and I nearly giggled.

". . . Making hot chocolate and soufflés?" I replied, a bit unsure; it sounded silly now that I had to explain it to another person.

"Soufflés? Against the Daleks? Where'd you get the milk?" the man asked me, sounding bemused as well.

But then, it cut out, the signal cut out.

"No! Hello? Hello?"

But there was no reply; I sighed and sagged back in the chair, defeated.

* * *

"Oh, ha, ha, ha," the man laughed, lying in the snow.

Carmen began to play, and I groaned, laughing a little bit. "Sorry, sorry. Pressed the wrong switch," I said after pressing the right one.

"Soufflé girl?" the man asked me, and I giggled.

"You can always call me Fariah, seeing as that's my name. You okay?"

The man tapped the eyepiece I was using to see him with. "How are you doing that, eh? This is Dalek technology," he said.

"It's very easy to hack," I replied, amused.

"No, it isn't," he replied instantly. "Where are you?"

"The ship broke up when it hit. Somewhere underground, I think," I said, shrugging. "You coming to get me?"

"Doctor?" a woman out of my sight shouted, and the picture began to break up into static.

"Hey! Oi! Soufflé girl!" I heard the man shout, but the picture didn't come back.

"Damn," I muttered, sagging against my chair.

* * *

I switched to another area, and lo and behold, there was the man, with a ginger woman by his side.

"Unauthorized personnel may not enter the cockpit," I said, smirking.

"Shut up," the man grumbled, and I chuckled.

"Oh, Mister Grumpy," I said, fiddling with the controls. "Bad combo: no sense of humor and that chin."

"Is that her again, soufflé girl?" the woman asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, she -" the man cut himself off, whirling about to glare at me through the camera. "Oi, what is wrong with my chin?"

I smirked. "Careful, dear; you'll put someone's eye out," I teased, flipping a few switches. "Scanning you. You're in another of the escape pods from the Alaska, right? Same ship I was on."

"How can you hack into everything? It should be impossible. You're in a crashed ship!" the man exclaimed, and my smirk widened.

"_Long_ story. Is there a word for total screaming genius that sounds modest and a tiny bit sexy?" I asked, and the man smirked at the camera.

"Doctor," he said. "You can call me the Doctor."

"See what you did there," I remarked, chuckling quietly, and a beep sounded. "Check the floor. I'm picking up a breach at floor level. There could be a way out. See you later."

And with that, I cut off communications.

* * *

There was another man in a room with a bunch of Daleks, and I frowned; didn't he realize what kind of danger he was in? Stupid!

The man was using a penlight to search his surroundings before he accidentally tripped on a bar of metal that let out a resounding clang. "Shush," he muttered as the Dalek in front of him started to boot up.

Other Daleks quickly began to boot up, and I frowned, fiddling with the controls again. Meanwhile, the Dalek in front of the man began to make sounds.

"What? Sorry, what?" the man replied, and I face-palmed.

"Stupid!" I muttered.

"Egg egg egg egg egg egg egg," the Dalek said, and I arched an eyebrow.

"Eggs? You mean those things?" the man asked, pointing at the round balls that belong on the Dalek's casing that were now on the floor.

"Egg," the Dalek repeated, and the man bent down to grab one of the balls.

"I don't - I don't know what you want. Those things. Are those things eggs? This? You want this," he said, and I shook my head in utter disbelief.

"Egg. Stir. Min. Ate," the Dalek said slowly, and both of my eyebrows raised as the man dropped the ball.

"Exterminate," the Dalek said.

"Exterminate."

The Daleks began to shoot at the man, only one nearing him, and even so, the man managed to dodge it.

"Emergency. Emergency. Exterminate. Exterminate," a Dalek said, and I grimaced.

I switched on the communications and exclaimed, "Run! The door at the end, run for it. They're waking up, but they're slow. The door at the end. Just run. Now! Now! Now!"

"Exterminate. Exterminate," the Daleks repeated as the man ran for the door.

It was opening slowly, and the man slid underneath the heavy metal door. So I quickly closed it behind him.

"So, anyway, I'm Fariah. What do I call you?" I asked, smiling at the man though he could not see me.

"Er, I can't remember," the man muttered, and I giggled silently. "Er, Rory."

"Lovely name, Rory," I said, complimenting him with a grin. "First boy I ever fancied was called Rory."

"Okay," Rory said slowly, and I giggled silently again.

"Actually, she was called Nina; I was going through a phase," I said, shrugging. "Just flirting to keep you cheerful."

"Exterminate. Exterminate," the Daleks screeched off camera.

"Er, okay, any time you want to start flirting again is fine by me," Rory said, and I giggled.

"Of course."

* * *

Rory's torch began to flicker, and I flipped the communications switch on again.

"Hey there, beakie boy," I said, smirking.

"If it's a straight choice, I prefer Nina," the dark-haired man said, and I chuckled.

"Loving this. The nose and the chin," I remarked. "You two could fence. There's a door behind you."

The door slid open, and Rory ran through into the room it revealed.

"In there, quickly," I said as I closed the door just as quickly as I had opened it. "Okay, you're safe for now. Pop your shirt off, quick as you like." I smirked at the image of Rory, though he couldn't see me.

"Why?" Rory asked, and my smirk widened.

"Does there have to be a reason?" I asked rhetorically.


	7. Chapter 7: Rescue Me, Chin Boy

Whispers Across Time

Chapter 7: Rescue Me and Show Me the Stars

"Fariah!" the Doctor shouted. "Fariah, can you hear me?"

"Hello, the chin. I have visual on you," I said, smirking. "Oh, and you finally managed to call me by my name. Congratulations."

"Shut up," he grumbled. "Anyway, why don't I have a visual on you? Why can't I ever see you?"

"Limited power, bad hair, take your pick," I replied with a shrug. "There's a door to your left; open it. I'm going to send you a map to that screen. I put your little friend somewhere safe. I can get you to him."

"Rory? You found Rory?" the Doctor asked, and I smirked again.

"I call him Nina. Personal thing," I said. "Hush now."

I began to type and fiddle with the controls.

"How many Daleks directly ahead of me right now?" the Doctor asked me, and I frowned.

"Ten, twenty, hard to say," I said, squinting at the screen. "Some of them are catatonic but they do have firepower."

"How do I get past them?" he asked before he suddenly realized his ginger friend was missing. "Amy!" he exclaimed, and he raced out of the room.

I sighed, leaning back against my chair. Guess I'll always fall second to others.

* * *

A Dalek blew up, blowing several others up as well, courtesy of the Doctor, and Rory felt it from where he was. "Fariah?" he asked, turning to the camera. "What was that? That was close."

He ran into the room where the smoking remains of the Daleks were. "Fariah? What happened? Who killed all the Daleks?"

"Who do you think?" the Doctor asked as he entered the room, carrying his ginger companion, Amy.

The two men, one alien and the other human, both walked into the teleport room and laid their ginger friend upon the circular teleport.

"Will sleeping help her? Will it slow down the process?" Rory asked, worried about his friend - no, his wife, possibly ex (how the hell did I know that!?).

"You'd better hope so," I said, "because pretty soon she's going to try and kill you."

"Amy," the Doctor said as the woman began to stir.

"Ow," she mumbled.

"Amy, still with us?" the Doctor asked.

"Amy, it's me. Do you remember me?" Rory asked, leaning over the woman, only to have her slap him.

"She remembers me," Rory said, and the Doctor chuckled.

"Same old Amy."

I frowned. "Do you know how you make someone into a Dalek?" I asked. "Subtract love, add anger. Doesn't she seem a bit too angry to you?"

"Well, somebody's never been to Scotland," Amy remarked, raising her head.

"What about you, though, Fariah? How come you're okay?" the Doctor asked. "Why hasn't the nanocloud converted you?"

"I mentioned the genius thing, yeah?" I replied, smirking. "Shielded in here."

"Clever of you," the Doctor said, complimenting me before he turned to view the wreckage and havoc I had wreaked upon the Daleks. "Now, this place. The Daleks said it was fully automated. Look at it. It's a wreck."

"Well, I've had nearly a year to mess with them, and not a lot else to do," I said, shrugging.

"A junior entertainment manager hiding out in a wrecked ship, hacking the security systems of the most advanced warrior race the universe has ever seen. But you know what really gets me about you, Fariah? The soufflés. Where do you get milk for the soufflés?" The Doctor turned to his companions. "Seriously. Is no one else wondering about that?"

"No. Frankly, no. Twice," Rory replied, and I giggled silently.

"So, Doctor," I said, reading off of the screens. "I've been looking you up. You're all over the database. Why do the Daleks call you the Predator?"

"I'm not the Predator, I'm just a man with a plan," the Doctor replied.

"You've got a plan?" I asked, grinning.

"That's all he is," Rory grumbled.

"There's a nose joke going if someone wants to pick that one off," Amy said, and I giggled.

"I would, sweetie, but it appears there are more important things to do than to make fun of Rory," I said.

"In no particular order, we need to neutralize all the Daleks in this Asylum, rescue Fariah from the wreckage, escape from this planet and fix Amy and Rory's marriage," the Doctor said, and I frowned.

How did I know they were married? Why did I always know strange things like that, that no one had ever told me?

"Okay, I'm counting three lost causes. Anyone else?" Amy remarked, and I chuckled.

"Same," I replied.

"Fariah," the Doctor said, and I snapped back into business mode, "there's a Dalek ship in orbit."

"Yes. Got it on the sensors," I said, examining the ship hovering above the planet.

"The Asylum has a forcefield. The Daleks upstairs are waiting for me to turn it off. Soon as I do, they'll burn this whole world and us with it," the Doctor said, a smirk growing on his face. "So, Fariah, my question is this: how fast can you drop the forcefield?"

I arched an eyebrow. "Pretty fast. But why would I?"

"Because this is a teleport. Am I right, Fariah?" the Doctor asked, and my eyebrow arched even higher.

"Yeah. Internal use only, though," I said.

"I can boost the power. Once the forcefield is down, I can use it to beam us right off this planet," the Doctor said, smirking.

"You said when the forcefield is down, the Daleks will blow us up," Rory pointed out dryly.

"We'll have to be quick, yes," the Doctor said, nodding.

"Fine, we'll be quick. But where do we beam to?" Amy asked, and I shrugged; I honestly wasn't following.

"The only place within range: the Dalek ship," the Doctor replied.

"They'll exterminate us on the spot," Amy pointed out, her brown eyes wide.

"Ah, so this is the kind of escape plan where you survive about four seconds longer," Rory said, and I shrugged; again, I honestly didn't understand this man's logic.

"What's wrong with four seconds? You can do loads in four seconds. Fariah, how fast can you drop the forcefield?" the Doctor asked, grinning slightly.

"I can do it from here," I said, "as soon as you come and get me."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, just drop the forcefield and come to us."

"There's enough power in that teleport for one go. Why would you wait for me?" I asked, suspicious.

"Why wouldn't I?" the Doctor shot back.

"No idea. Never met you," I replied as I began punching coordinates into the controls. "Sending you a map so you can come get me."

"This place is crawling with Daleks," Rory pointed out.

"Yeah. Kind of why I'm anxious to leave. Come up and see me sometime," I said sarcastically, leaning back in my chair and propping my feet up on the control panel desk thingy.

* * *

"Fariah, I think I'm close," the Doctor said from inside a corridor nearby.

"You are. Less than twenty feet away. Which is the good news," I replied, grimacing.

"Okay. And the bad which I suddenly feel is coming?" he asked, and I bit my lip.

"You're about to pass through Intensive Care," I told him, and he blinked as he stepped inside Intensive Care.

"What's so special about this lot, then?" he asked as he peered at the Daleks in cages.

"Don't know," I said, calling up information about these specific Daleks. "Survivors of particular wars. Spiridon, Kembel, Eridius, Vulcan, Exxilon. Ringing any bells?"

"All of them," the Doctor said, and I blinked.

"Yeah? How?" I asked curiously.

"These are the Daleks who survived me," he announced, and at that moment, they all woke up and began to call for him - or rather, bark his name angrily.

"That's weird. Those ones don't usually wake up for anything," I said, bewildered, and the Doctor shrugged.

"Yeah, well, special visitor," he said, turning. "Okay, door, but it won't open. I can't be far away, though."

"Hang on. Not quite sure. There's a release code. Let me just . . ." My voice trailed off. After a few moments, I looked up at the screen. "Anything out there?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"No," he said simply.

"Hang on, I'm trying to think," I said, biting my lip.

I was so involved in my thoughts and fiddling with the controls that I didn't notice what was going on on screen until the Doctor literally screamed my name.

"Fariah! Open this door!" he shouted.

"I can't!" I shouted as way of reply, agitated.

"Fariah," the Doctor repeated. "Just get this door open! Fariah! Fariah, please! Get this door open! Help me!"

I continued to fiddle with the controls, ignoring the movement on the screen.

"Stop!" the Doctor shouted, and at that moment, I succeeded.

I looked up from my work and smirked when I saw the Daleks moving away from the Doctor as if they had never known him. "Oh, that is cool," I said, chuckling. "Tell me I'm cool, chin boy."

"What, what did you do?" the Doctor asked.

"Hang on, I think I've found the door thingy," I said, flipping switches and twisting controls.

"No, tell me what you did," the Doctor said, shaking his head.

"The Daleks, they have a hive mind. Well, they don't, they have a sort of telepathic web," I said.

"The path web, yes," he said, nodding.

"I hacked into it, did a mass delete," I said, smirking, "on all the information connected with the Doctor."

His eyes widened. "You made them forget me?" he asked, and I chuckled.

"Good, eh?" I asked proudly. "And here comes the door."

The door slid open.

"I've tried hacking into the path web. Even I couldn't do it," the Doctor said, and I stood, gathering up my belongings.

"Come and meet the girl who can," I said, and I stopped in front of the screen. "Hey, you're right outside. Come on in."

The Doctor looked dark. "Fariah, we have a problem," he said, looking as though he was gritting his teeth.

"No, we don't. Don't even say that. Joined the Alaska to see the universe, ended up stuck in a shipwreck first time out. Rescue me, chin boy, and show me the stars," I said, reclining back in my seat.

"Does it look real to you?" the Doctor asked me.

"Does what look real?" I asked, bewildered.

"Where you are right now," he clarified. "Does it seem real?"

I nodded, forgetting he couldn't see me. "It _is_ real," I told him.

"It's a dream, Fariah," the Doctor said, fervently.

"It is real," I said, just as fervently.

"No, it's not. It's just a dream. You dreamed it for yourself because the truth was too terrible," he said, and my eyes widened at the truth ringing through in every single word he spoke.

"Where am I?" I asked, biting my lip. "Where am I? Where am I?"

"Because you are a Dalek," the Doctor announced, and my eyes widened.

"I am not a Dalek. I am not a Dalek!" I exclaimed almost hysterically. "I'm human."

"You were human when you crashed here. It was you who climbed out of the pod. That was your ladder," the Doctor explained.

Memories poured through my head, overwhelming me.

"You mean?" I asked, my voice trailing off. "Human."

"Not any more. Because you're right. You're a genius. And the Daleks need genius. They didn't just make you a puppet, they did a full conversion," the Doctor said, and I let out a cry as memories continued to pour through my head. "Fariah, I am so sorry, but you are a Dalek. The milk, Fariah. The milk and the eggs for the soufflés. Where, where did it all come from?"

"Eggs," I repeated, my mind whirling.

"It wasn't real. It was never real," the Doctor told me, and I bit my lip.

"Eggs. Stir. Min. Ate."

"Fariah," the Doctor said, his eyes wide.

"Eggs. Stir. Min ate. Exterminate."

"Fariah. No, no, no, Fariah. Fariah," the Doctor said.

"Exterminate!"

"Listen, Fariah, you don't have to do this," he said, pleading.

"Exterminate!"

"Fariah!" the Doctor shouted.

I began to sob. "Why do they hate you so much? They hate you so much. Why?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"I fought them many, many times," the Doctor told me.

"We have grown stronger in fear of you," I said, biting my lip.

"I know. I tried to stop," the Doctor said, looking as though he was about to sob himself.

"Then run," I said, reaching forward and flipping a few switches and pressing a few buttons.

"What did you say?" he asked, confused.

"I've taken down the forcefield," I said. "The Daleks above have begun their attack. Run!"

"Fariah, are you -" I cut him off.

"I am Fariah Faith. I fought the Daleks and I. Am. HUMAN!" I shouted before calming. "Remember me."

"Thank you," the Doctor murmured.

"Run!" I exclaimed, and he did.

The Doctor fled the room, and a tear slid down my cheek.

"Run, you clever boy. And remember."


End file.
